Master’s Sun: Episode 8

Things are getting better and better, which warms my heart. You wouldn’t think one terrible drama would be enough to make me lose faith entirely, but it definitely has made me gun-shy, so I’m feeling perhaps a slower burn with this show than I might if it were my first time with these writers. But my favorite aspect about Master’s Sun is that the emotional ups and downs feel rooted in genuine feeling, so that when the plot twists to throw wrenches into the works, I’m not cursing the show for using cheap tricks, and instead feeling my heart pinch in sympathy.

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EPISODE 8 RECAP

Joong-won places her hand on his heart and tells her that he’s not made of marble, and that it isn’t that he feels nothing when she touches him. Gong-shil makes a vague motion to her heart region and asks if it feels funny too, and he admits, “It always did.” Not in a grand confession sort of way, but as a matter-of-fact explanation that she touches him too freely.

He says he didn’t say anything because she seemed so unperturbed—but now that her reactions are taking a more “normal” turn, he asks her to be more circumspect. You know, so that bystanders just think they’re friendly, not weirdos attracting strange looks.

To demonstrate, he holds her hand—that’s friendly. He places her hand on his face, then his chest—that’s “What the heck are they doing?”

Gong-shil says that before, she’d been too overwhelmed with fear to think about anything when feeling him up, but agrees to start being more careful now. He motions to her forehead scrape and tells her to be more careful with her safety, too, and not get hurt like that anymore. Because that kind of worrying is friendly. Ha, I can’t wait for the day you make out like bandits and excuse yourself as being friendly.

Then he steps waaaaay closer to her to demonstrate another example of WTF behavior. He’s enjoying this way too much, isn’t he? Yes, “friend,” keep explaining what exactly it is she shouldn’t do. How will she know if you don’t show her?

Joong-won offers to take her home and hold her hand, but she pushes away his hand and declines—her radar is acting all funny. He misinterprets her reaction as fear that Kang Candy will see them together, and in a flare of jealousy he grabs her hand and declares he has nothing to hide, and if they should happen to run into Candyman on the way home, he’s just gonna tell him they’re “friendly.” Lol.

Kang Woo makes his latest report to Daddy Joo, now having regained his previous focus on the task at hand. He informs him that Gong-shil does in fact have some sort of connection to Hee-joo (based on the photo he saw in her desk) and that his emotions briefly clouded his reactions. Daddy Joo directs him to looking for a potential link in Hee-joo’s orphanage past, since she has no parents or family. And also whether Gong-shil has ever been to Europe, since he has a photo of Hee-joo amidst a European backdrop.

Daddy Joo speaks to him familiarly and even warmly, wondering whether Kang Woo will be okay investigating a woman he’d been interested in. Kang Woo says he’ll be fine, but Daddy Joo advises him not to put on a strong front—if you repress your feelings, you’ll end up in pain. “Do you think it will hurt?” Daddy Joo asks. Kang Woo promises, “I will end my feelings.”

With that, he takes the Dooly and Gong-shil stuffed dolls to toss in the trash, just as Gong-shil gets dropped off by Joong-won. He asks about her funny-acting radar, and she assures him that it’s not because of a ghost, but just something she has to give a good scolding.

Joong-won goes home and finds a plate of cheese in his fridge, which reminds him of Gong-shil’s advice to eat some tofu (tofu = white and pure = what you eat when you get out of jail to prevent future transgressions). He’d scoffed at the tradition, but gets out the cheese nevertheless. Close enough.

Gong-shil talks to her stuffed doll, eating tofu, about how touching Joong-won on the face amounts to sexual harassment and how it’s no different from a perv copping a feel on the subway. She figures it’s something that comes with not being scared so much of ghosts anymore, so when one of her ghost regulars pops up in her apartment, Gong-shil asks granny to give her a good scare to knock some sense back into her.

Aunt and Uncle drop by Joong-won’s apartment for a visit, and also to chide him over recent events. Auntie Joo isn’t too concerned about the jail stint since it came from a good cause, but she points out that he’s been acting out of character ever since Gong-shil started hanging around. It’s a fact his father has already heard of, as he has asked after the girl.

That news makes Joong-won bristle, saying that his father hasn’t once showed interest in his 34 years. Aunt says that Dad’s probably mellowing out with age and wanting grandchildren, and Uncle VP encourages him to give it a good go this time.

Gong-shil runs across Kang Woo in the lobby, who is now stony-faced and cool. But thanks to his candid nature (you know, when he’s not sneaking around investigating you), he decides to make everything crystal clear and tells her that his liking her was a misunderstanding. He explains it away as a joke said to the boys that she believed, which he felt too apologetic about to correct. But now he needs to set things straight and let her know.

Gong-shil is embarrassed to have thought otherwise and says he should’ve told her right away, but he points out that even though she liked his attention, she didn’t like him. After all, hearing this now doesn’t bring her pain, does it?

With that, Kang Woo goes out for a punishing run, trying to shove aside his own pain.

Time for a new ghost story. We find a party in full swing at a hotel pool, but as soon as the camera goes underwater the tone turns ominous. A ghostly hand reaches for swimmers’ legs, and latches on to one girl as she wades out to retrieve a beach ball. Immediately the swimmer starts thrashing as she’s dragged under, even though to everyone else’s eyes there’s nothing causing it.

As the girl goes under, she comes face to face with a terrifying sight (we only see the ghost from the rear) and screams. A lifeguard dives in and pulls her out, and while all the swimmers look on curiously, the ghost goes in for a second target…

This marks the third time Kingdom Hotel has had a complaint of a mysterious leg-pulling attack in the pool, and they’re bound to lose clientele to Giant Hotel. Joong-won can’t have that, and decides to dispatch his radar to the pool. Then he gasps to see something alarming through his telescope: “Giant Mall is… taller than mine!”

He finds Gong-shil in her office, and notes that she looks “even more like a zombie” today (she explains being haunted by ghost ajumma all night). At the mere mention of water ghosts, though, she shudders at the memory of almost being drowned in the river and cries that she never wants to see one again.

Joong-won offers her his hand, but even that’s not enough to dispel her fears. He sits back to figure out a way to solve this dilemma…

And sends Secretary Kim to give Gong-shil a vacation package to Kingdom Hotel for her day off. HAHA. You can’t make her go, so you’ll trick her? You, sir, are kind of a clever meaniepants.

She’s giggly and thrilled, though, thinking he’s being thoughtful after seeing her dark circles. She decides to use it the very next day, inviting her sister and her friends along.

Kang Woo calls Yi-ryung out to inquire into Gong-shil’s background. She gets huffy at the idea that he’s still interested in Gong-shil, but cheers right up to hear it’s just more investigation. I do love how she’s always inviting him to things with backhanded excuses (“I’m not inviting you to lunch, I’m just saying it’s lunchtime so I’ll let you come along”) and how he declines her half-assed explanations when in fact she’s gone all-out and made reservations in advance. Maybe you’d have some luck if you were actually direct, honey. But Yi-ryung is basically harmless so I can’t help but find her amusing.

Gong-shil’s unni wonders whom to invite with the extra gift certificates, and despite Gong-shil telling her not to include Kang Woo, she decides to do some matchmaking of her own. So unni takes the vouchers to Gossipy Guard (fine, his name is Han-joo) and tells him to bring Kang Woo along so she can set up the couple. Ha, something tells me there’ll be a couple, but not the one she’s thinking of.

Han-joo wonders for two full seconds whether Gong-shil’s activities constitute reportable intel to Uncle VP, then dismisses it in favor of a fun vacation. Ha. He’s a dim bulb, but an amusing dim bulb.

Gong-shil heads to the hotel first and marvels at the luxury, looking wistfully at a sign about the fireworks festival. It’d be nice to go, but venturing out alone at night isn’t exactly her idea of fun. She gets a call from Joong-won, who turns out to be right behind her and whisks her away to dinner. She’s confused at all the fuss, but goes along while his employees guess that he has a romantic event planned that would explain why he reserved the whole pool for himself.

Auntie Joo drops in on Hee-joo’s orphanage, which she has helped support since Hee-joo’s death. She explains to Secretary Kim that she’d considered cutting ties after the kidnapping, but decided to keep up the support out of consideration for Joong-won, who met Hee-joo here.

And then Secretary Kim notices another visitor arriving: Kang Woo. This is definitely fishy.

Kang Woo’s errand means he doesn’t join unni or gossipy guard Han-joo, who stop for gas on the way to their hotel visit. Unni Gong-ri deflates to recognize another customer, glowering and calling him the jerk who ripped her off and disappeared. So when the jerk pulls out of the lot, Gong-ri revs her engine and peels out after him.

Joong-won is attentive and considerate through dinner, which makes Gong-shil blush and me groan at the impending kabloomy. Because there’s only one way for this to end, right? He asks whether she has a change of clothes (she’s dressed plainly in a T-shirt and shorts), thinking that she’ll need a dry outfit following her dip in the pool. Eeeek. My heart is cringing for Gong-shil already. I hope you know how to grovel, dear sir.

Making it worse is how Gong-shil overhears employees in the bathroom talking enviously about the romantic plans their president has prepared for his date. After dinner he makes plans to meet later in the evening, saying that he has something “very important” planned, adding, “Even if you’re surprised, don’t get too mad.”

He sends up a gift box to her room, and inside she finds a dress and heels, and that sends her heart fluttering even more.

Gong-shil finds him waiting poolside, and he directs her attention upward just as the fireworks show begins. But when she steps aside, she returns to hear him on the phone talking about solving the issue with the pool, and her face falls. She recalls his question earlier about the water ghost, and hurries away feeling stupid. She tells him she’ll be back, and heads up to change out of her pretty designer dress.

Back in her T-shirt, she sighs that she dodged a bullet—this would have been terribly embarrassing. “Why do I feel so upset?” she asks, fighting tears. Kang Woo’s comment reminds her—pain is what happens when your feelings are thwarted.

Joong-won waits a while by the pool, then figures out that she must have gotten the wrong idea. Gong-shil returns to the lobby and gets a few snickers from employees who figure that there was no event after all. Yet Joong-won grabs her hand anyway, shutting them up, telling her that even if there are no scary ghosts around, there are still people’s eyes—equally scary, those.

Gong-shil points out that it’ll affect his image, and he replies, “I don’t care at all what those things chatter about. I’m looking at you, who is upset by those chattering things.” He guesses that her feelings were hurt, and she admits that they were, and that he should’ve just told her to be the radar instead of inviting her to luxury and buying her things.

He says, a bit uncomfortably, that it’s because she was scared and he felt sorry about it. That makes her feel a bit better, and he insists on holding her hand all the way to the pool.

Kang Woo meets with Yi-ryung, who has done as he requested and asked around about Gong-shil’s family background. As usual she’s gone way overboard and has voice recordings all prepared, but he just tells her to send them over and leaves right away, to her frustration. Heh. What’s a top actress-model gotta do to get a date around here?

Yi-ryung follows him out and offers him a ride home, to which he says he’ll take the plebeian subway instead, which she’s welcome to try. Y’know, it occurs to me that this might really be her one shot at becoming a decent person. So for that, kudos to Kang Woo.

Gong-shil and Joong-won wait poolside for the ghost to appear, and the longer they wait the more nervous he gets. Finally she decides to just go into the water anyway, even though water ghosts are frightful and don’t like to let go once they’ve grabbed hold, asking him to at least fish her out if that happens. Joong-won orders her not to, though, deciding that they’ll just drain the pool and wait it out.

Just as he stalks off, though, Gong-shil hears a splash and looks into the water, which starts to ripple with an unseen force. It barrels toward her and leaps out to yank her in—just as Joong-won returns and pulls her back, poofing the ghost into smoke.

Gong-ri follows her money-owing jerk home, intent on giving him what-for and getting her money back. But before she can confront him, his pregnant wife steps out and the jerk turns doting husband, sapping her of all her resentment.

Yi-ryung is rather proud of herself for taking the subway after all, though her mood sours a couple of passengers start gossiping about her and how she’s an over-the-hill, talentless has-been, destined to eat the dust of younger, prettier stars like IU. Kang Woo sees her face fall and takes her hand to guide her to the exit, but Yi-ryung shakes it off and reveals her face to her slanderers. With a bright smile, she informs the lady that she’s doing quite well, thank you, and sings a line from an IU song.

Fan mayhem ensues and Kang Woo leaps into bodyguard mode while Yi-ryung smiles and waves. Once out of the subway car, he tells her that her singing sucked, and she chirps, “But I looked pretty, right?”

He flatly says no, leaving her to get mobbed by more bystanders. Only this time it’s not quite so fun and she hunches over nervously while they accost her, and Kang Woo barrels through to grab her hand. Off they run, and I’m pretty sure he’s enjoying at least part of it.

By the pool, Gong-shil observes as the ajumma ghost sits poolside and reapplies her makeup, then heads into the bathroom to shower, do her hair, and even knock on stall doors before entering. Gong-shil guesses that this is not a water ghost after all, and that she doesn’t know she’s dead.

With a puzzled Joong-won following along (and taking her word for what’s going on), Gong-shil watches as the chic lady ghost “dines,” reads, and enters the hotel’s most expensive suite.

Gong-shil and Joong-won wonder why this ghost who acts like a human would be dragging people underwater, and he instructs her to inform the lady that she’s dead and that it’s time to check out. The lady just reaches into her purse and presents a voucher—she was selected to receive the gift, so she’s allowed to be here.

At least that gives them a way to find out her identity, and an employee confirms that she was a memorable guest. She was a common-looking ajumma who enjoyed her stay so much that her pleasure at everything was notable. Don’t you just love Joong-won’s reaction, which is that his hotel is so awesome that a guest would be loath to leave it even in death. Ha.

But the employee corrects them: She’s not dead. She’s in the hospital, unconscious but alive. This is a first for Gong-shil, who’s never dealt with a case like this. Can you be a ghost if you’re not dead?

A glimpse of the woman’s hospital room shows us that she has a bickering family, and one where she perhaps was overworked and underappreciated. Which may explain why the ajumma has no desire to leave, as she ignores Gong-shil as though she can’t hear a thing she says.

But at the mention of her daughter’s name, the ghost reacts. Gong-shil urges her to think of her family and return to life, and gets her to agree. She just wants to see the fireworks show before she goes, and changes into an evening gown. So Joong-won encourages her to do the same and match the occasion, and Gong-shil changes back into her pretty dress.

By the pool, the ajumma watches the fireworks, Gong-shil watches the ajumma, and Joong-won mostly watches Gong-shil. The ajumma is near tears thinking of how nice her dream was, “But it’s time to wake up now.” Off she goes, and her family greets her with tears.

Joong-won asks how the ajumma liked the show, and Gong-shil relates her words: that it felt like a dizzying midsummer dream. “It felt thrilling and happy, and painful too, because what she saw here was so nice.” I’m pretty sure we’re not talking about ajumma anymore, though Gong-shil makes it sound like ajumma was here until just now, saying those things.

The show ends, and Gong-shil notes that tonight she shattered somebody’s nice dream. They aren’t pointed at him, but I think he feels the barb nonetheless.

Meanwhile, Yi-ryung smiles to see the news of her subway show and the photos with Kang Woo. Unni Gong-ri has a harder time of it, crying that she hadn’t thought her ex would be married. Guard Han-joo sits uncomfortably next to her and pats her comfortingly.

Kang Woo sighs upon his return home that night, because those dolls he tried to throw away have been rescued by the neighbor boys, who waste no time making them kiss. Ha.

The next day, Joong-won watches Gong-shil as he finalizes his plans for a weeklong business trip to China, and wonders if he should tell her. Secretary Kim informs him that she knows already, and he’s maybe a little miffed that she’s so fine with it, as though he expected her to be upset.

Secretary Kim relays her words: that to her, Joong-won is like a special voucher that she won. It’s a huge gift, but not a place she can stay forever. “If I want to live well on my own, I have to get used to being places without him.”

Joong-won denies being affected by it, saying he feels better to hear that she doesn’t need him. Secretary Kim repeats Gong-shil’s words about pain telling you the answer when you’re not honest with your heart, and Joong-won’s jaw clenches—he’s heard those words before, when they came from Hee-joo. (Innnnteresting, because Kang Woo heard it from Daddy Joo.)

In flashback, we see teenage Hee-joo telling those words to teenage Joong-won, who boils it down to the question, “So you’re saying that if I want to like you, I should hurt?” She smiles and says, “Yes, I’d like it if you hurt an awful lot.”

Joong-won asks Gong-shil where she picked up that saying, and his eyes narrow when she sources it back to Kang Woo. He orders Secretary Kim to look into Kang Woo’s background with a fine-toothed comb, which is when Secretary Kim offers up the tidbit about seeing him at the orphanage.

Tracing Kang Woo’s origins further, Joong-won asks Uncle VP how Kang Woo came to be hired, and hears that he was recommended for his outstanding record. Uncle hedges, but Joong-won guesses the truth, that it was his father who made the recommendation.

Joong-won heads to security next to confront Kang Woo about working for his father. Kang Woo is honest, saying that he was instructed to investigate those around Joong-won, particularly anyone related to Hee-joo—because Daddy Joo believes Hee-joo was a co-conspirator, not the victim.

Flashback. After the kidnapping, Daddy Joo asks Joong-won if he truly didn’t see his kidnapper’s face. Joong-won is fully of suspicions himself and asks whether Dad truly paid the ransom—because why else would he be afraid Joong-won might have seen the kidnapper’s face?

So Joong-won suspects his father refused to pay and thereby killed Hee-joo, while Daddy Joo suspects Joong-won lied about his kidnappers’ identity. They find themselves at impasse, and have been for the past fifteen years.

Keeping his temper at a low boil, Joong-won has a few messages for Kang Woo to convey to his father: that he’s looking for the necklace, and that he hopes his father won’t get his hands on it.

Just as Gong-shil wonders what Kang Woo’s relationship to Hee-joo is, the ghost appears. We don’t hear what she says, but Gong-shil falls to the ground in response, which is how Joong-won finds her.

So Gong-shil now knows that Hee-joo was in on the kidnapping, and Joong-won asks to know who her co-conspirators were. But Gong-shil shakes her head—Hee-joo can’t say. Or wouldn’t say, because she has to protect whoever it is.

He tamps down his reaction, struggling to deal with his emotions, and as Gong-shil turns to leave him, he stops her. “Don’t go. Stay here,” he requests. “I don’t want her to see me like this. Since you can see her, stay with me and protect me.”

COMMENTS

Aw, I loved this episode. Just everything that happened, and what it means for our people. We’ve been on a nice streak so it’s not like we haven’t had good episodes before, but there was a lovely balance of emotion from both leads in this one, as both Master and Sun find that they both want and need each other in deepening ways.

Plus, we also got development for multiple side couples and a ghost tale that was pleasant for its understatedness—it mattered, sort of, but not so much that it overtook the plot. As a bonus, the ghost’s trajectory had a thematic resonance with the main storyline; I felt that pang when Gong-shil realized that this was a temporary bliss, and that she ought to get used to life after it’s over. In a simpler drama, I think we might expect the hero and heroine to stay in denial and convince themselves that what they had was purely a business arrangement, but I like that both characters are willing to admit that their feelings can’t help but get mixed up in matters. It’s just not going to become the basis of their relationship, or change why they need each other. At least not yet.

The makeover scene was one of those subverted cliches that I really liked, even though it was also a heart-twister. The heroine gets her Cinderella moment as the hero lavishes her in gifts and attention, and for a moment Gong-shil allows herself to bask in her hopes. All the while Joong-won is thinking in plainly practical terms and just getting his wires crossed in the communication process. I liked that we’re dealing with subtler characterizations here than the setup might lend itself to; it would be all too easy to keep everyone in their diametrically opposite molds. But no, he feels apologetic even as he’s using her, even as he knows it’s okay to use her because that’s the nature of their radar-shelter deal. And it’s for that reason, that he doesn’t feel so great about it anyway, that smooths things over and eases her embarrassed hurt.

Baby steps, yes, but as long as they’re baby steps headed toward each other, I’m all good.

August 29, 2013 at 8:25 PM

UNREGISTERED

I'm going to do a summary of the summary and then post the rest on my blog, which you can see by clicking my name out of respect to Dramabeans other posters and our fair recapper, Girlfriday. There is a point where it just gets rude. Every time I tried to cut it down there was *more* to put in and the more I watched it the more I spotted things. >.<;; Hong Sisters, you aren't supposed to be the complex and layered. *Head desk*

Tonally, the switch up in the episode was well-delivered. That between the fantasy, the reality and the pain and how much of that is a part of living. The word play between candy and radar. And then the physical and visual jokes throughout the show.

So I'll hit on themes for this post, which will still make it ghastly long, but spare the scrolling....

Theme 1: "When the heart/feelings is/are not being precise, pain will be."

From each character to another this phrase changed meaning from one person to another.

Thematically, at this point it works, since we've seen pain and that's what JW and GS both fear the most about living. It's why he keeps raising his defenses, even as he buckles at his foundations (to borrow the air raid shelter metaphor.)

If you're tracking the phrase goes full circle... JW's father-->KW where it means, harden yourself and realize your loyalties.

From KW to GS, it seems to mean, you never cared about me in the first place, (even though I like you romantically)

When GS says it to herself, in effect in front of the mirror, she realizes her feelings bubbling up again. And this time it's a sign of love. (But also heartbreak for us, the audience. >.<;;)

From GS to JW's secretary it means she will reconsider the fantasy being created by JW.

From JW's secretary to JW, he means it as chase after GS and JW takes that hard, but is struggling not to show it.

From JW back to GS, he tells her he heard it from his dead girlfriend, CHJ. From there, the phrase takes a darker turn. It seems like she knew what she was supposed to do from the beginning. It means possession. JW figures out the connection to his father, which connects his father back to CHJ.

This probably means, given the large circle, CHJ and JW's father are related (not bloodline) in some way that JW doesn't know. Perhaps JW's father was in the original plan, the CHJ betrayed his father. That wouldn't make her half so evil and fit the theming, but Hong Sisters pull out the rug too often for me to trust that. (Yes, there are even more nuances, but I can't cover them... space... see the longer post if you're so inclined.)

Theme 2: Pain is reality v. Fantasy story-wise

You saw this through the stories they ran which both intersected and rain parallel to the previous change in the meaning of the phrase.

For the sister, you saw the fantasy of anger she had towards her ex was really pain of love.

For the ghosts, you saw that she was living a child-like fantasy without responsibility, escaping her family. (Her name has "kang" meaning river, a reference to the pool and Ja meaning child... not sure on the second one.)

For Gong Sil, she realized that her love was a fantasy from the ghost, even though it is reality and she's not imagining things. JW was in turn pained that she thought it was only a fantasy, turning his very words against him from the top of the episode.

This was in contrast to YR, who is still living in a fantasy that KW likes her and isn't willing to face the pain.

And for KW the pain meant denying the reality, which is a fantasy of sorts, which he created on his own. This is shown again at the end with the Gong Sil and the Dooly.

I also think they meant it to relate back to the HJ plot too. 'cause he was living in a fantasy before the pain of her death hit him. And also the father-son fight seems like neither is living in a reality and neither is facing the true pain.

Pain tells you that you are alive... they ended like that, which ties it directly to the other theme. It works considering what our characters are doing.

Theme 3: Candy v. radar.

The Candy sequences... it can read so many ways. I think I need a few pages to cover them all, so I'll summarize and maybe expound later on request.

Level A. It shows him being nice to butter her up--but that's only the surface currents. It seems cruel until you realize...

Level B. He's showing concern, but lying to himself that it isn't concern at all and he's not falling in. It's guarded concern, which he's showing with his hands behind his back. He's finding excuses to be closer to her.

Level C. He's *spending* his money on her and turning her into a Candy. The very thing he said was more important than her, he's spending on her.

Level D. There is the joke involved with subverting the Candy role of the rich guy bringing someone to dinner, etc.

Level E. Is the double heart break on the fantasy. One that she is trying to restrain herself and that JW is sad that she actually took it that way.

So, funny, sad, subverting, heart lifting... I was left turning so many times. I love layers--and Hong Sisters aren't known for that usually. (They are working hard to apply what they learned from BIG). (I also like easy stories too... my range goes far)

Theme 3: "What are they doing?"

From the top of the show he set boundaries, saying he was a man too... but then slowly through his own concern was the one reaching for her, initiating almost all their touch together, while she drove him crazy pushing him away.

The meaning of the phrase changed every time it appeared. First time it was stay away from me, next time it was stay away, but come closer. Next time it was I'm doing you a favor by letting you touch me and last time was because I want to, I'm going to do it.

Other things to notice throughout the episode was that he admitted that he doesn't find it strange and was willing to have people stare and even seemingly go alone into the most expensive room in the hotel *alone* with a woman without any compulsion, such that when he was by the pool he was swallowing hard looking at her. (That was either well-timed, or on purpose, and I'm inclined to say on purpose.)

This too, eventually tied into the last line, Don't go, please stay, making her his safety shelter.

Color-wise, he deviated from red-blue and went to black after he tried to put her away and then went to gray, but by the end of the show, their colors matched up again. (though it's really, really subtle).

World building-wise and character-wise, they showed that some ghosts are nice and some are really evil. And some can solve their own problems and some are just coma patients. So for GS, too, I think her requesting to be scared is a little character building.

And then the subversions. SOOO many. Gyahhhh. It's so hard to choose which ones to feature, so I'll leave the peanut gallery to decide. Second Leads, the switch ups tonally, the changes in phrases, etc. It's an episode long with subversions. (Candy played more forefront than any other.)

Overall, really good episode. Undercut expectations in so many nice ways. All of the little stories matched beautifully.

August 29, 2013 at 8:58 PM

UNREGISTERED

Also Knight GS really didn't solve the problem of the pool ghost, just watched her return to her place... I have a feeling that the ghost would have returned on her own to her own body, which I thought was a nice switch up. It showed that JW wasn't needed at all, but he wanted to be there anyway. Willingly.

I thoroughly enjoyed that subversion--they didn't solve or rescue anything. So they weren't rescuing each other until JW asked her to stay at the end.

August 30, 2013 at 1:50 AM

UNREGISTERED

I was wondering if anyone was thinking the same about this episode as far as the comatose ghost goes. isn’t this a foreshadowing to prepare and explain to us how the body switch between cha hee joo and sun would be accomplished? couldn’t cha hee joo find a way to get sun to fall into a coma whether its accident related or whatever, so that she can take over her body. once sun’s in a coma she will be living in a happy dream world, preferably one with no ghost and with mr. ceo, and she wouldn’t realize it. cha hee joo can then just go about pretending to be sun? while sun would just become a wandering lost soul.

August 30, 2013 at 6:10 AM

August 30, 2013 at 6:26 AM

UNREGISTERED

Wow, I sensed some of this in my heart/mind and kinda gushed at the beats and the echoing and mirroring going on. But the way you can define/analyze/break it down in a practical logical schematic way! Ah, woman! You're so good!

August 29, 2013 at 8:46 PM

August 29, 2013 at 8:53 PM

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That's an interesting thought...maybe he suppressed it? (where would we be in Dramaland w/o at least a little amnesia amiright)

I have a new theory after today that for some as-yet-to-be-revealed reason JW's dad orchestrated the kidnapping with the help of Hee Joo, knowing all along that his son would be fine, but along the way (maybe Hee Joo double crossed him?) something went very very wrong. Or maybe nothing went wrong and he needed to get rid of Hee Joo. This is why Dad is so concerned about how much JW knows or doesn't know--he's not sure if Hee Joo told him and he's keeping mum, or if she didn't say anything. Also this is why HJ doesn't want to tell JW who her conspirator was.

I also keep getting the vibe that Candy Kang is Hee Joo's brother. Dad found Candy Kang and used his relationship with his sister to get him to spy on JW, perhaps promising him the whole truth about her death.

August 29, 2013 at 9:02 PM

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Your theory sounds like what we are supposed to think at this point. But Hong Sisters are well known for pulling the rug on anything you speculate to be true with basket full of red herrings. Yet when you get to the other end it makes more sense than the initial theory they proposed and made you think.

I've given up on guessing outcomes with them. And I say that as someone who really loves the game. I just found it wasn't worth it anymore because you're always wrong with them.

September 2, 2013 at 4:04 AM

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I think it is hard to guess because it is two people not only one doing the writing. I develop a lot of theories but it is true it is hard to guess where it is going. To me it might not be the dad because it is too obvious, but how he knew the phrase she said it is a mystery maybe he offered her money to disappear like they do in all the dramas and she took it or maybe the kidnapping was a way to make JW stop loving her and it all went wrong. Like I said before though it looks like a woman was the one driving the get away car... GS looked as if she is hiding something when he came to the office.

I am expecting a big twist like the movie Sixth Sense, somehow someone might be dead or both are trapped on this drama and the ghosts are just something they are doing together. It would be funny if that is what happened and nothing is real. But again the Hongs are hard to guess not impossible though and we need more episodes to finally agree in what is going to happened, either way it is a great drama.

August 29, 2013 at 9:21 PM

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jmjm -

That was my thought too, that Kang was somehow related to the dead girl.

As for your other theory, it is notable that his dad and his late girlfriend both use the exact same phrase to explain about love and pain. So clearly his dad and HJ interacted even before JW and HJ became a couple (it seemed the beginning of their relationship in the flashback).

Unless she was an illegitimate daughter of, say, the owner of Giant Mall, I can't think why Dad would want her near his son. Hmm. I need to ruminate on this longer. Thanks for the thought!

August 29, 2013 at 11:26 PM

I'm going on a limb and saying that everything is going to come together in the the building he was held in. He never razed it, so it's been intact and untouched since the incident. So therefore:

(1) HJ hid the necklace somewhere there, before going on the Dead End Road Race. That way she's not a completely bad, moneygrubbing female.
(2) the necklace wasn't dismantled but will be found intact.
(3) He can revisit the trauma of reading Agatha Christie's book and finally put his reading disorder behind him.

August 30, 2013 at 6:57 AM

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Oh mo, hwee joo and daddy joo is related?
(sudden guess)
could it be that the main kidnapper is hwee joo's mom? maybe HJ's mom was one of daddy joo's many lovers who came back for revenge?
that explains why HJ wants to protect the conspirator and why the ransom is that necklace.
and apparently if the conspirator hates daddy joo, (s)he will wanna torture his son by making him read And Then There Was None. it also completes the "pain will tell you" circle ohohohohoho....
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nah.. can't be.

August 29, 2013 at 10:27 PM

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I am curious about Kang-Woo's relationship to Joong-Won's father.

Despite sending Kang-Woo's on this mission to keep an eye on Joong-Won, Chairman Joo's interaction with Kang-Woo is invested on a personal level. He seems to cares about Kang-Woo's welfare and their interaction suggest a connection on a personal level.

I suspect the two directional caring between Kang-Woo and Chairman Joo is something Joong-Won never had with his father.

August 30, 2013 at 10:45 AM

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^^ I like this theory. The irony is in how KW likes GS but GS likes JW, and JW who subversively yearns for his father's love (what boy doesn't?) sees that KW has that relationship with his father. It would definitely make the JW-KW rival more intense. However, KW just cant match up with JW at all, especially when it comes to GS. (and i'm getting feels for the YR-KW pairing, so I'm guessing a potentially story altering plot can pulled out from that). Also, they haven't done enough build up for KW's reasons for liking GS that a love triangle with these three just doesn't feel right. But I do want to see more of the JW-KW tension. I'm getting a Les Miserables Jean ValJean-Javert vibe from them. For now... I'm just sooooooo happy that GS and JW are needing each other--- and they're just embracing it! They are sooo flirting with romance and love and I love how subtle it all is.

August 30, 2013 at 6:17 AM

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She did it for her nephew whom she obviously loves like a son. She's even attempting to set him up with suitable brides. To use Joseon parlance, she's the royal family member with the most seniority in the palace, is taking care of the inner court, and acting Queen Mother.

August 29, 2013 at 8:57 PM

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I read on another forum that someone was hoping for Hyun Bin to show up as the CEO of Giant Mall, playing off of Secret Garden. I would DIE if that happened. All of Dramaland would collectively die at once.

August 29, 2013 at 9:37 PM

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Omo! I hope that is true! <3<3<3 Hahaha another that'd be good though is if dokko jin made a cameo as an endorser for kingdom or something and says that gong shil looks pretty which makes joong won jealous. :))) Wishful thinking I know.

August 30, 2013 at 2:52 AM

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Joining you in your wishful thinking:

He could add how beautiful her lips are and he could stare at her for a long time saying that she reminds him of someone. When our Master shows his displeasure our top star should tell him 'Get Lost' using his hand gesture ^-^

August 29, 2013 at 10:48 PM

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puahahaha! this would be hilarious. people can be crazy imaginative! imagine the face off between joong-won and joo-won—would be LEGENDARY. and who should win? joong-won? because it's his show? but we know just how fiercely competitive joo-won is. he might die if he doesn't win. lol

oh but they are dreams. no way would a star like hyun bin make a cameo, unless it was a kim eun-sook production.

August 30, 2013 at 12:53 AM

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Ha ha ha! A Hyun-bin cameo is most unlikely :-) but a Dokko Jin cameo as the spokesman for rival Giant Mall is highly possible! That would be hilarious and, I agree, would make huge/good entertainment news.

September 2, 2013 at 3:41 AM

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But I doubt they will get CSW because of his son's scandal... It would be great but it is usually someone from the drama before it and that is that awful drama... So Suzy or Gong Yoo but he was a doctor... Have you watch the video that SBS released with an edited version of both of them as rivals, it is hilarious but no subs.

August 30, 2013 at 9:47 AM

August 29, 2013 at 8:30 PM

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Can I just say that I loooooove how the main couple complements each other so well? It really showed in this episode, from JW noticing GS was upset and saying sorry, to GS admitting that she *was* upset instead of the typical "I'm fine etc. etc" response, and to JW knowing GS was talking about herself re: her heart being happy yet sad because she liked seeing "it" (ie. JW) too much when they were at the pool (I'll gush more on this scene later). Just bravo progress wise because their relationship seems more organic and natural instead of rushed this way (and they're not even canon yet!). With both being in tune with one another (except for their feelings tsk) when they *do* finally get together it's worth it because we see how hard they got there.

The pool scene, oh geez I was swooning all over. GW told JW the ghost enjoyed the show and then about her feelings, "because what she saw here was so nice.”." And she looked at him when saying the last line lawdddd. She was obviously referring to herself and I'm glad JW got an inkling of this because I thought it would go over his head. Then there was that exchange of longing looks and I swear my heart stopped hahaha. I love smart leads.

Other stuff I enjoyed:

-JW likes to push GW away but always comes back to her. Telling her they should be "friendly" and not "wth are they doing" but ending up doing the latter anyway.
-I love YR! Girl's got guts in planning that whole subway scene and singing that IU line, "what do I do? I ike you oppa" at KW. Hah. And she was smiling when he rescued her, so cute. I think she's my fave Hong Sisters 2nd lead actress to date.
-I'm beginning to think KW and Hee Joo might be related somehow, especially since they said the same line about the heart and pain. Friends? Orphans at the same orphanage? The plot thickens.
-MORE SKINSHIP! I love it, give it all to me.

August 29, 2013 at 8:35 PM

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Did you see JW swallow as he looked at her??? OMG, that means he knew then that he couldn't resist as much as he wanted to believe. And then the heartbreak at the end when he finds out she thinks he was only giving her a fantasy...

August 29, 2013 at 8:41 PM

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YES OMG I thought it was only me! And did you also see how he was smiling at first but when she told him "because what she saw was nice" his smile dropped a bit? Like he was shocked and knew she wasn't talking about ajumma but he didn't want to give it away? I swooned so hard. And then yeah, the ending happened! Drats. Why do they keep skirting around their feelingssssss... ;___;

August 29, 2013 at 8:50 PM

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Yes, his falling smile!

And the whole layers to the candy scene was so well played in acting, directing and writing. On the surface it seems like business, but that's too easy. The harder stuff comes later and gets a pay off at the end. The man who holds money above everything spends it *on her*. I think I am in love. With the show.

I like that they are both falling in love at the same time, but their reasons for not saying it aren't the usual, "Big misunderstanding" but real concerns and also the reasons are *different* complex and layered.

Maybe I'm just revealing my jealousy... I want to write something that falls so beautifully like that...

August 29, 2013 at 9:02 PM

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I think we can credit SJS' acting here too. I noticed that he expresses well with his face, especially his eyes, eyebrows and mouth. You have to pay attention to it because his movements are really subtle, and when you do it just adds to the moment (like the stuff we mentioned). Bravo.

I'm really loving all the Candy metaphor. I honestly had no idea what it was at first but upon further research it works SO WELL, just like you said. Such clever writing. I think the Hong sisters knew they had to step it up after last year's Drama-That-Shall-Not-Be-Named.

YESSS that's it, that's why I like the obstructions in their relationships because it's not dramatic or from a misunderstanding (can't stand those! ugh). It's natural and relatable. I hope the drama keeps this up, we're halfway in and it would be a shame if it all goes badly.

August 29, 2013 at 9:19 PM

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Personally, I think Master's Sun was a bit more what they wanted to do with BIG last round, but they learned from their mistakes, got a matching director, actors that got it, and so the kismet is working out.

Last time, Big had a good director, who misunderstood the writing. Good actors who didn't quite connect to the writing or the directing. Previous reputation ruined the smooth ride.

If anything, the layers and tonality, they've got the hang of because of BIG, not because they ditched anything related to BIG.

'cause before that you had Greatest Love which was all slapstick, and then most of the other dramas followed suit.

If you view BIG more like Master's Sun, rather than coming out of Greatest Love, then it makes sense... also thematically, I thought Big was a lot simpler, but fell short a bit since it was their first time changing the pacing and trying for both subtle and layered story telling. (You strip back your usual plate of goodies when you try something new.)

Opposite of this website, I thought for trying to get layered and subtle, the ending delivered... but it didn't deliver emotionally as much as writer mechanically. (which always makes people upset with writers. *cough*)

This show is far more Warm and Fuzzy than I thought it would be, and for that, I think you can directly say it was because they weren't satisfied with Big's tone never quite delivering that on the theme of maturity, which should be hard, but warm and fluffy, unlike the theme of Life and Death (though we're veering more into Life in this one).

I know from my study of their works, etc that they do want to eventually end up tonally darker and try dark humor as well. They get bits peaking out from their writing... and since I know authors fairly well, and I've been watching their pattern, it's likely to pop up in a later drama. (I think they really would have done it for this one if they didn't think BIG fell short in some capacity...) Writers that challenge themselves constantly tend to do this type of thing... ^^;;

It's my job to understand stories and the creators... so I can reproduce effects of the same.

August 30, 2013 at 12:11 PM

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@KYM: I have to say your thoughts on Big are a lot more positive than mine lol. But it's interesting to note it from a writing standpoint, and how the Hong sisters are trying to learn their from their mistakes and improve on them.

August 30, 2013 at 6:25 AM

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Listen, he's a man and an adult human being. Even if she was a physical mess from not sleeping, she's not an unattractive woman. She keeps touching him, right from the get-go, in fact.

Add up all these little repeated touches, and some hormonal chemistry happens without the other person even wanting it (c.f. Love in a Cold Climate by Nancy Mitford for where a harasser by little touches doesn't realize one of the girls he bothers fell for him because out of all them, *she* got confused by the effect from it *and* she got it the most of the repetitious little strokes etc over the years => her forcing him to marry her).

Then, add in that he basically likes her as a person. Hormonal chemistry plus liking the other person => Wuv.

August 30, 2013 at 6:47 AM

August 31, 2013 at 5:05 AM

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I can tell you that it does :) I had it happen to me with a very close friend of mine. The touching no matter how friendly you think it is might stir some things in both persons unknowingly. I don't mean to say that it would happen ALL the time but that it's not impossible.

August 30, 2013 at 9:05 AM

August 29, 2013 at 9:04 PM

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I love that JW's only reluctance to express his feelings is that he was so hurt in the past. The fact that she's poor, seemingly a bit nuts and below him in status doesn't seem to be bothering him much, though he likes to pretend it does. It's just so refreshing in Dramaland to have none of that seemingly matter to him.

I love YR, too. I love most that while she's a schemer, she kind of only half-heartedly gets into it. She's much more concerned with bumping into KW. It was SO refreshing that instead of hanging her head and crying she stood up and took charge in that subway, even though it was nice to see KW come to rescue her in the end.

August 29, 2013 at 8:35 PM

Enjoyed episode 8, but it wasn’t the joyfest for me that episode 7 was.

Sucka!! You would think by now that I would know not to fall for the forwards/cliffhangers. The start of the next movement in this piece never goes in the direction I assume the forward was leading.

Episode 7 was set up to begin with a kiss, but started Joong-Won’s restricting Goong-Sil access to his body and quarantining her into a specific role. But by the end he had reversed his restriction, surrendering to her need to be around him.

Episode 8 was set up as the beginning of a heartfelt confession, only to have Joong-Won “friend zoned” Gong Sil. “This is friendly”okay “This is what do they think they are doing/romantic” not okay. By the end of Episode 8, he was in full Bonnie Raitt mode “Let’s Give Them Something To Talk About” However made no indication that he was ready for romance, just ready not to care about what people thought about his romantic life.

Ah, the evolution of Joong-Won.

Our Male Romantic Lead:
Joong-Won’s motto: “People are scarier than ghosts.”
He has been consistent with this belief from the start. At first he didn’t believe in ghosts, now he does, but still hold firm to the belief that it isn’t the dead that should be feared, but the living.

Joong-Won made a major step asking for help at the end of the episode. Nothing says I trust you more than asking for help. Especially from a hero who frequently ask if people are trying to identify his vulnerability.

Our Female Romantic Lead:
Made me think of “You’ve Had a Bad Day”

Romantic hopes crushed. To be told that what you thought was genuine interest was a misunderstanding and a joke. Soul-crushing.
To misunderstand a job as special attention—humiliating.

But I just admire the dignity with which Gong Sil carries herself and lives her life. She is admirable and a role model in ways applicable in real life that most heroines in dramas aren’t.

Most realistically played let me buy you a new wardrobe scene ever in a drama. No parading outfit for Lord of the Manor. That some eye Joong-Won has to be able to sum up a woman’s dress size by just looking carefully at her bosom.

I wonder how Joong-Won will react when he finds out the Kang-Woo dumped Gong Sil.

Gong-Sil’s costuming has caught my attention throughout the series because 1) they are not that flattering 2) they look like something most people would wear. Even though I know there is a costumer hard at work Gong-Shil doesn’t look costumed. It looked as if the actress (whom I assume has better made close in real life) was relaxing at home and suddenly ran to set, but didn’t have time to change into her product placement costume. The only thing that has be curious is that it seems the character doesn’t make a clothing distinction between her at home taking out the recyclable and showing up for work at a high-end mall. It made sense when she was on janitorial duty and changed into a uniform, but in her current position I surprised she doesn’t dress better. Also, she is the only character I’ve seen on k-drama who consistently wears a nightgown, instead of going to sleep in whatever they had been wearing during the day.

Reasons to respect our second female lead--Tae Yi-Ryung
1) She is not motivated by power. She is actually going after the man who interests her.
2) She is willing to work to get her man.
3) Here sense of entitlement doesn’t impress anyone, and she is so easily deflated.
4) So far she hasn’t slapped anyone or tried to get anyone fired.

Kang-Woo.
I got nothing.
I feel his pain--but I'm glad he's now forced to focus on the right girl. He'll do Yi-Ryung a world of good and she'll appreciate having him by her side.

August 29, 2013 at 8:46 PM

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I also like Tae Yi Reong because she's not afraid to ask the man she likes out on a date. She's not afraid of being forward and straight with him (which is refreshing) and the story doesn't punish her for it, but rather rewards her.

August 29, 2013 at 9:45 PM

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I'm also interested and dare I say excited to see how JW reacts when he finds out that KW dumbed GS. My hope is that it leads to more skinship

I might sound like a broken record but I love reading all the posts. It helps me pick up on things that I miss. I will be honestly, most of the time I'm giddy just watching the OTP interact with each other.

August 29, 2013 at 10:06 PM

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So JW's father knows Hee Joo...she grew up in an orphanage so I think maybe JW's father felt responsible for her in some way. I don't believe they are related but rather he probably knew her father, mother, both. She's protecting somebody what if that someone is a parent? What if she really isn't an orphan? But why would JW's father believe Hee Joo to be guilty when everyone else believed she was a victim? Something happened for things to go sour and for him to believe she was capable of such an act.

I loved everything that happened between Joong Won and Gong Shil. Every tiny thing revealed something so much bigger and deeper. The whole Candy/pool fiasco made me hurt for her so much. Oh and the end!!! JW leaning on her and needing her was just this great reversal that was just so moving. She became his shelter. Loved that.

September 1, 2013 at 6:41 AM

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I agree!

I also have a theory that HeeJoo didn't tell Joong-Won who her co-conspirator was because she's protecting him. I think his father had something to do with the initial kidnapping and she doesn't want him(Joong-Won) to get more hurt.

August 29, 2013 at 9:07 PM

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I watched this ep raw and gosh how this drama turned me into a manic addict. And this is the first time i ever watch anything So Ji Sub. Man this guy rocked suits like a boss -hiccups-
Love the pacing and overall feel of this drama. Oh Wednesday & Thursday can't get any faster -cries and rewatches prev. eps-

August 29, 2013 at 11:00 PM

No man looks good in a formal business suit that ends above the ankle. Worse it is hard to take that man seriously in a business situation.

It has been years and I've finally surrender to the men's skinfitting pants in K-dramas. I've accepted the above the ankle length in most cases, but it just does not work for me in a suit.

I imagine the only people that the short suit pants make happy are people who manufacture socks. I imagine the socks industry has been in decline since men no longer wear socks with ankle high jeans or casual pants on k-dramas. But they do with suits. And since the pants are so short, the socks will be seen so they will need to be of good quality and Pretty. So the people who make and design socks must be happy. Me, not so much.

August 30, 2013 at 8:23 AM

August 30, 2013 at 8:38 AM

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I'm okay with the colors.

One of the things I like about k-dramas is the fact that mean will wear strong bright brave colors. KIMSAMSOON was the first drama I fell in love with and one of the things I like about it was that the male lead work strong colors.

Western men might venture into pale pastel now and again, but on average they shun strong colors--unless they are on the golf course the the hideous plaids show up.

August 29, 2013 at 9:11 PM

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I loved this episode, and found myself rooting for the OTP wholeheartedly (rare, for a chronically SLS-afflicted gal like myself). Kang-woo, your heart hurts? Come, lay your head down riiiight here. I'll take care of you. ;)

The Kang-woo/Yi-ryung scenes cracked me up and were totally heartwarming. I like that, despite her annoyingness, I'm sorta rooting for her to get her man. The Candy scenes were great also--I felt so bad for Gong-shil but, to my own surprise, not irritated with Joong-won. Well done, I usually cringe my way through those types of scenes.

August 29, 2013 at 9:11 PM

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So Ji Sub has always been handsome and appealing, but something about all these smiles lately and the concern and the vulnerability. Hooooo Lordy, I can't remember the last time I lusted after a leading man this much. I'll be back after a long, cold shower.... O.O

August 30, 2013 at 12:31 PM

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well So ji sub melts my bones too,he is a bit similar to his role because he is antiextroverted and belongs natural shyness but i guess he is a kindhearted too,when his best friend comitted suicide He payed his burial because he was in bankrunpt,i am a prouded fan

August 29, 2013 at 9:12 PM

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The last episode made me smile for an hour after hand, but this is the one where I've decided to trust the hong sisters completely again. The subversions were terrific, with beautiful character moments where we could feel their pain (claps to the actors). It's freeing how truthful the leads are to each other: how she admits clearly that it was a candy moment and highlights why to him without accusing, how he tries to explain and she accepts it. how he doesn't even for a moment Misunderstand she would have had a connection to hee joo and be a spy, but simply walks up and asks her. In a worse drama, there would've been a whole episode of angst on that and I had already groaned, totally expecting that would happen. But nope, they clear the air asap and that's the best thing about them. They've trusted each other for so long, they don't even realise how far down that goes.

And all the other characters are super cute. We saw the second female lead have problems with bullying and her self esteem, but it seems the ghost was the one feeding them mostly. She simply called her big sun last ep (though there was probably less spite bc she thought taeyang was being duped), and she was sassy enough to stand in the train and say her mind. Kang woo might have been drawn to taeyang because of his saviour complex, but those two are so great together help.

August 29, 2013 at 10:47 PM

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Just thinking that the only co-conspirator who might make Taeyang collapse like that would be Secretary Kim??? Who even now keeps a very close eye on his charge . . . although I LIKE SK and want to think there is no huge and gruesome reversal looming . . .

August 29, 2013 at 9:34 PM

I have a feeling...MAYBE joong won's father staged the kidnap-he made use of Hee Joo who is an orphan (ya know how the Rich and the powerful like to trample on poor ppl...)

Motive-to "steal" the necklace which belonged to Joong Won's mother. And maybe the guys whom he employed to kidnap his son ran away with the loot and hence daddy is also searching for them?

And Hee Joo? I think she could be trying to protect Joong Won from the truth about his own father, because she is afraid he will get hurt...

JUST A WILD GUESS, hahaha (not considered a spoiler if it really happened this way right?)

I hope our OTP can be clear of their feelings soon...ep 8 was bit sad coz tae yang was really happy thinking joong won likes her...joong won was just too fixated on his mission..or coz he keeps thinking that tae yang doesn't see him as a man...

August 30, 2013 at 2:32 AM

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Actually I had the same thought.

That Joong Won Daddy was the mastermind of the kidnapping. Hee Joo was his girlfriend that he planted as his son's girlfriend (ew, but subversive enough). He might secretly have had financial problems at the time. Since the necklace was a family heirloom, he had to come up with a legitimate reason why it suddenly had to disappear. Hence, the convoluted kidnapping scheme requiring the necklace as ransom.

And now he's planted Kang Woo on Joong Won's tail to make sure he does not find the truth nor the necklace.

Therefore, Hee Joo's refusal to divulge the identity of her accomplice is understandable if it is Joong Won Daddy.

Also explains why he had piccies of Hee Joo posing with friend in Europe. Not a random headshot by detectives that.

August 29, 2013 at 9:40 PM

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Just love how the relationship between Joong Won and Tae Yang! <3
But I'm still curious about who is hee joo protecting...
Is it Joong Won? Or someone else?
And is Joong Won's mother really dead? They never explain how she died....
I have a feeling that the another culprit is his mom..

August 29, 2013 at 10:11 PM

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I think it is possible that ultimately she is protecting Joong-Won from further hurt.

I suspect whoever orchestrated the kidnapping is someone close to or someone who should be close to Joong-Won. If that is true there are very few possibilities, Joong-Won's father, his aunt, or P/L/Secretary Kim.

September 1, 2013 at 4:19 PM

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Yes!! That's what I believe! Since day one I've always thought that the culprit could be his mother but everyone was fixated only on suspecting the characters they could see. It seemed like nobody had an inkling about his mother's history. What if the saying "What you heart doesn't tell you, pain will." saying originates from JW's mother. It explains why JW's dad knows it and if she is the co-conspirator, it explains why Jee Joo knows it. Kang Woo obviously got it from JW's dad.

August 29, 2013 at 9:45 PM

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I hope they make some progress regarding joong won's kidnapping. I mean we are halfway already right?? And I demand a kiss soon! :)) It's such a torture to wait a whole week for episode 9. I want more skinship!

Can somebody explain to what JW said to KW meant? About him finding the lost necklace? Can somebody explain to me the whole kidnapping thing? I have a hard time understanding it, especially the whole necklace thing.

August 29, 2013 at 10:32 PM

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At this juncture nobody knows for sure who the kidnapper was. I personally think it's a woman. A woman who wants JW's mother's necklace. Who could it be? She must be someone important too JW for his girlfriend to help her. I don't think the kidnapper wants money as ransom. The necklace means something more to her.

August 29, 2013 at 11:24 PM

August 29, 2013 at 11:54 PM

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Right? There's no news of her yet if she's dead or not, and people here heavily implied that the person driving the fatal car looked like a woman. Add the fact that JW's dad looks to be a womanizer~, the mysterious mother is a good candidate. She could've been trying to steal her beloved jewels back (family heirloom, maybe?) from her husband.

August 30, 2013 at 12:28 AM

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The person with Hee Joo during the post-kidnapping car chase scenes looked like a woman, surely. I also guess that she was JW's mother. Has there been any information about JW's mother yet? Could she be based in Europe (where Hee Joo visited before and came to know her) and where JW's father is now there searching for her/the necklace?

August 30, 2013 at 2:09 AM

August 30, 2013 at 6:58 AM

They suggested that JW's girlfriend HJ, was a plant by his father from the line I traced.

But that plant betrayed him by going with another team, who then kidnapped JW.

HJ is protecting that person from JW, even after death, for his sake.

JW's father thinks that JW stole the necklace. And JW thinks that his father killed HJ. I think both are red herrings and neither is the truth, given the nature of this episode (everything was a fantasy.)

So we don't know who the kidnapper is. No one seems to know/remember. The person in the car, however, was a man, but likely a henchman.

JW has PTSD, still. And his secretary seems to have been sent by his aunt to watch over him in his PTSD to get clues about said necklace (there were some lines and meetings to that effect--didn't anyone catch them, or were they washed away by the overwhelming cute?). (The child psychologist and the lawyer bit was also leverage).

Everyone is looking for the necklace. The only one that knows is HJ, but she's dead, a ghost and protecting the person who has it.

Speculation, though, beyond what's given is fruitless. Always. Hong Sisters never make it easy. Your first 10 instincts are usually wrong.

I've parsed plots in a writer view since I was five. I track details so I can copy techniques.

August 29, 2013 at 9:51 PM

August 29, 2013 at 10:01 PM

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I'm pretty sure that it was a fantasy since then there would be two fireworks shows, cause the first one was her dreamily looking up at the sky and the second one was her, Joong Won, and the comatose "ghost".

August 30, 2013 at 2:27 AM

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i think it was her fantasy too. and the look on her face as she ran to change after she overheard joong won's phone call just kill me.

but i love the fact that joong won and gong shil are honest to each other. they go and ask each other instead of keeping things they know to themselves (often how misunderstanding and suspicion grow in k dramas).

August 29, 2013 at 9:50 PM

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Thanks for the recap! I loved this episode! There were several squealworthy moments. The emotional development was there- they're at the "ugh, I feel something stage", but not the "i like you"/confession stage. And several secrets get outed - Kang-woo not seriously pursuing Gong-shil (at least that's what he likes to believe), Joong-won finding out who the spy is, and Gong-shil finding out about Cha Hee-soo's role in the kidnapping.

And So Ji Sub has been making Joong-won more of his own character now and has been doing so for the past few episodes, which has greatly enhanced his chemistry with Gong Hyo jin.

I thought the cutting between the three couples was sort of choppy, but it was really nice to find myself rooting for all three (yes, including the obnoxious security guy). I loved how Yi-ryung didn't hide from those who badmouthed her on the train!

August 29, 2013 at 9:56 PM

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Wow, I just loved this episode! And I wanted to thank all of you who recap and add to the understanding of the many layer of this drama (and others, too). I read the recap, then KimYoonmi's review (dissection?), Redge's, Yumi's and all the other's! I love to see other peoples reactions to what I am watching as well, so this was really helpful. :) I also loved reading KimYoonmi's review on her blog. I gain so much more insight after seeing the layers, since I've only been able to swoon seeing the two leads together, lol.

I am waiting to be surprised by the whole Cha Hee Joo situation.

I loved that Gong Shil reacted the way she did at Cha Hee Joo's confession about her role. I really felt as if it showed how deeply she cares for her friend/love. I just hope that she has the courage to embrace him and help him at that moment, which I think she will, unless she can't see past her own pain for him.

I am not sure I will be able to find enough to occupy my mind during the wait for Ep. 9, but I am sure I will still be reading analyses and reviews well into the next!

I love that I have others who love this as much (and even more so) than me. I feel like I am more normal to see other people reacting as I do when they watch something they truly love to watch. Here in the south, I don't identify with a whole lot of other people, so having an online community as addicted to k drama's, k pop, Asian culture as much as I am is so comforting!

August 30, 2013 at 9:37 AM

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I hear you, Jennifer! In my part of the States, watching KDramas and KPop is not a socially acceptable thing to do. It's definitely something that makes people think I'm weird (if I happen to admit to it, which is rare). Then I come to Dramabeans and think, "It's OK. Lots of people love this stuff as much as I do!"

August 30, 2013 at 11:13 AM

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Oh I must reply to this :)

There is definitely this hallyu wave taking over the world. I personally think Twilight, 50Shades, and all those other western pop lit have nothing against the way KDramas are written. Hehehe. I'm such a fan. But yeah, I get where the socially unacceptable aspect can be coming from :\

August 30, 2013 at 1:41 PM

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Thanks you guys!! Yes I am kinda a freak of nature to my family (especially my in-laws). But I'm sorry, with the way this world is I can't help but want to surround myself with great drama music ect... I loved the dead wedding episode because the fortune teller used really nice BJD's for representing the dead couples!! Anyway I am so glad to feel a part of something and if I weren't on my phone I would type more LOL ?????

August 29, 2013 at 10:06 PM

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I was wondering if anyone was thinking the same about this episode as far as the coma ghost goes. isn't this a foreshadowing to prepare and explain to us how the body switch between cha hee joo and sun would be accomplished? couldn't cha hee joo find a way to get sun to fall into a coma whether its accident related or whatever, so that she can take over her body. once sun's in a coma she will be living in a happy dream world, preferably one with no ghost and with mr. ceo, and she wouldn't realize it. cha hee joo can then just go about pretending to be sun? sun would just become a wandering lost soul.

August 29, 2013 at 10:09 PM

August 29, 2013 at 10:32 PM

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ok, help me if im wrong but details about GS accident hasnt been mention yet right? bc wasnt after that accident that she came to see ghost? so yes while like everyone else i wonder about JW kidnap case too, all the the relationship between everyone involve, this ep made me think more about GS, bc of the technically not dead ghost, and how that creepy lady from the matchmaking ep said GS has one foot in death door, so aside from JW problems, is something going to happen to GS too? or do u think im thinking to much? lol just wondering

August 29, 2013 at 10:42 PM

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It's official, am now fully in love with this drama, or more specifically, this pairing! What a great pair of episodes this week.

And erm, notice Joong Won doesn't let anyone near his *cough* telescope, except Gong Shil? Hekekekekeke.... And he complains about his size too...OH BOY. I'm 12. Must stop. Except I can't. Alfred said last episode that it would get bigger, and I'm inclined to believe him!

August 29, 2013 at 10:53 PM

the ghost ahjumma scene where we cannot see Gong Shil seeing her, actually, made me think, maybe it still is just her imagination? Maybe she IS crazy?

second, didn´t understand the motif WHY the comatose ghost would pull people under water? what , just randomly? They really did not explain

third, why did the camera stop on Kang Woo´s running shoes? prduct placement or something significant with the kidnapping? I am thinking too much into it.

fourth, it doesn´t occur to Kang Woo to ask himself, why Gong Shil had the photo of Hee Joo in her drawer so openly? the conclusion I would make is that she must be a private investigator. which she kind of is.

fifth, I tend to agree more with the theories that Joong Won planned the kidnapping together with Hee Joo but still, why he read the book doesn´t fit into the puzzle.

I feel like the real picture is not the one we have the most puzzle pieces of, but it is the one of the few unmatching pieces with all the others missing.

makes me wonder...you can do a drama for grown ups with silly ghosts. meaning my story has a chance, then.
but I would like it to be more clearly aburd and comical. grotesque, if you like, but amusing.

August 29, 2013 at 11:34 PM

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"the ghost ahjumma scene where we cannot see Gong Shil seeing her, actually, made me think, maybe it still is just her imagination? Maybe she IS crazy?"
With the grocery store owner--I think it makes it funnier and scarier. Sometimes the scarier things are the things you cannot see. (You have to see the first vampire movie ever to get that.) A person's imagination is scarier than anything a movie can produce.

"second, didn´t understand the motif WHY the comatose ghost would pull people under water? what , just randomly? They really did not explain"
They did. She was trying to swim and push past the other people, who got pulled under. It was a quick line, granted, but still a line.

"third, why did the camera stop on Kang Woo´s running shoes? prduct placement or something significant with the kidnapping? I am thinking too much into it."
Product placement. Done.

"fourth, it doesn´t occur to Kang Woo to ask himself, why Gong Shil had the photo of Hee Joo in her drawer so openly? the conclusion I would make is that she must be a private investigator. which she kind of is."
Jealousy clouded his judgment, as it would with the typical second female lead.

"fifth, I tend to agree more with the theories that Joong Won planned the kidnapping together with Hee Joo but still, why he read the book doesn´t fit into the puzzle. "
I still think it's a red herring. That the truth runs deeper. 'cause the Hong Sisters are just like that. I warn everyone every show and no one believes me.

BTW, in order to write a good story, you need something called cultural resonance. That means that what works for one country will not work for another, and the things one likes about one show may not be the same as another person. So some of the people in this show may love just the romance. Some may like the entirety of the show, some people may only line the tone... some may like the theming, some may like the actors. Some may like the visuals. It doesn't mean because one show is popular they all like ghost stories with a comical edge. (Which is the mistake of the majority of the programs made for the "You may also like...")

Personally, I like playing with cultural resonance and story form, but I realize that I have a lower chance of getting published by playing with it as I do. Also means I guess trends in market better as well.

It also means that you need impeccable grammar in everything you write in your chosen language much better than the average person. It has to be above reproach.

August 30, 2013 at 1:33 AM

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thank you for answering my questions, however I´ll wait and see.

when it comes to the story I meant generally, it is not utterly ridiculous to have ghosts and such for grown ups.
I think my grammar in estonian is sufficient....
I dont necessarily aim for publishing I write for my friends.

August 31, 2013 at 8:31 AM

August 30, 2013 at 6:49 PM

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third, why did the camera stop on Kang Woo´s running shoes?

This one might be product placement but the camera seem to show awful lot of scenes on JW legs & shoes. They zoomed on his hands and it has meaning in it, so what about legs? I'm starting to think too much....